Thursday, July 26, 2007

Sacrifices...

We've had another relatively busy week after Gareth's return from his marathon global trip. Taking Monday off to recover meant he had a much needed long lie in especially as jet lag kicked in and a number of days of not being able to sleep till 4am was starting to take its toll. Eventually he got back into a regular sleep pattern and was able to take some time to rest.

Good-bye guys, we'll miss you

The weekend after he returned saw us wave goodbye to one set of expat friends after their two years in India. Paul, Athena and son Taylor waved a teary farewell before boarding their plane back to the States where Athena is due to give birth to their second child later in the year. After the group lunch with them we almost immediately said 'hello' to our friend Pete from London, visiting us in Hyderabad for a couple of days as he was over in Chennai with work for a little while.

Was lovely to see him standing there at the airport and we whisked him off for dinner that evening in a restaurant, that as far as possible did not serve spicy food. Pete is not a lover of spices and his taste buds are highly tuned to seeking out any errant chilli flakes etc lurking in the dish. This skill was quickly demonstrated, as in India asking for 'no spice' translates as 'less spice' to most restaurants. Pete's meal therefore had to be sent back and made again, this time in their minds as bland as possible so he could enjoy.

Andi, Pete and Gareth (two cameras on us at one time meant eyes in different directions!)

However it was a nice start to our time with him and we rose early Sunday to head to church and go on after for a tour of some of the sights of Hyderabad. This day however we hadn't realised was a festival unique to the city - a festival of colour. So when we arrived after lunch at our first stop Golkonda Fort, which we've talked about in earlier blogs, we were suddenly struck by the abundance of colours stretched out before us.

How many different colours can you count...?

Sarees, scarves, blankets, pots, pans etc were brightly coloured and looking beautiful with the place itself packed out. Sunday being a day off for most we knew it would be busy, but the Fort was heaving as people came out to celebrate the festival. Some were plucking or chopping up chickens to then cook in pots for family meals and there was a number of different smells as dishes were being prepared.

This leads us to our first unique part of the story, witnessing the sacrifice of a goat or more correctly the goat had already been sacrificed and we were seeing the aftermath. Out of the three of us, I the non-red-meat-eater saw the most of the goat with its throat cut being held down in the last throes of death, as blood streamed down the path. A 'glorious' moment for me and one I am unlikely to forget or encourage me to eat goat.

Then pushing up the path being greeted by many 'namastes' or 'hi's' as we were one of very few western faces visiting that day. Hearing the beat of the drum and passing the crowds who were keen to touch the shrine of the Hindu god, we reached the top of the fort and had an amazing view of the city and could imagine something of the lives of those who lived in this impressive structure many, many years ago.

Then the rain started, so working our way back down Gareth the Pied Piper of Hyderabad surrounded by 15 young guys desperate to chat to him, created much excitement as he spoke to them in Hindi and handled some of their many questions.

Pete and I also got caught up in the fun and both Pete and Gareth teased the guys, that they had to pay 50 rupees for every handshake they were asked for.

Making it down to the bottom again we took shelter for a short time, crouched in one of the archways with others, we eventually made a run for it to discover our car had been blocked in by a 4WD and auto van.Drenched by the monsoon rains, the men take charge of the auto van blocking our exit..

This is where Pete impressed the local men while Gareth had to do a 20 point turn, as he and the car park guys managed to push the auto back far enough for us to squeeze out and dripping wet we headed off to our next stop, Charminar in the old city. Scene of bombings a couple of months ago it is now back to normal, we didn't however spend that long before we needed to get back for dinner and rest/dry off at home, as we were saying goodbye to Pete at 5.30 the next morning. This evening also involved the men avidly watching the golf, football and Grand Prix coverage.

We really enjoyed our time with him and also having the chance to later that night skype his wife Fi and son Josh to catch up quickly and say hi, as they wait in the UK for Pete to return home.

A couple of days earlier I (Andi) had been going through a slight cooking revival, suddenly enthused to try some new recipes as much as possible with no oven, one day saw me looking at a recipe for broccoli soup. Preparing all the ingredients I did exactly as Jamie Oliver said and added part of the hot water from the pan into the blender with the softened veg. This is where it started to go slightly wrong...

The blender obviously not coping with the heat, mid blending decided to blow its top off as I stood over it - hot green veg flew up in the air landing mostly on me, the wall and the floor. Gareth hearing a 'small' cry from the kitchen came rushing through to find me standing there head to toe in broccoli. Very sweetly he packed me off to the shower as he set about cleaning up.

That was the end of the soup, but have still been inspired to try some new dishes and Gareth's (and my) stomach is benefiting from the more successful efforts! Attempting to counter balance this, I've been able to enjoy regular swims recently, as the monsoon weather has meant many people locally think it is too 'cold' to swim and at times I have had it to myself and not had to play dodgems in the normally packed pool.

The other amusing but great example of life in India re effects of a power cut, was when I got stuck in our apartment block lift. Coming back from picking up some groceries, dragging in a few heavy bags to the lift I pressed for our floor and half way up the power cut in the building. Now this is a normal occurrence so not something to be worried about. However our back-up generator which powers up the lift and emergency lights in these situations was not responding, so left me stranded between floors and therefore unable to crawl out, for over 20 minutes. Eventually the poor watchman was able to get the power on again and the lift slowly wound its way up to our floor and let me escape the heat.

The coming few weeks see us next Sunday enjoying UK worship band Delirious lead worship at our church, Pearl City, plus play at an evening event the church is also hosting. Tickets for it are also being given out on the streets and going fast - so we hope it's another opportunity for new people to visit and enjoy the music and talks.

Gareth and I have then planned the following weekend a short break to Jaipur in Rajhastan, one of the most beautiful parts of India which boasts stunning palaces, forts, hills and walks. We plan to do some exploring but also take advantage of the hotel amenities to relax.

Amber Fort just one of the many beautiful places to visit on our trip.

After this I (Andi) will then have one more week before I fly to Australia on the 12th Aug with work, where I will be trained in personal and team security during conflict scenarios for when I travel to different countries or respond to disaster situations with my job. This might involve being kidnapped at 5am from my bed and held at 'fake' gunpoint, or walking through an imaginary minefield, as I have to respond as taught...

Some theory and some practical training, it will most definitely be an experience and honestly if someone kidnapped me and held a gun to my head I think most people would have the same reaction - and not sure if any training can ever fully prepare you! "Don't panic Mr Mannering!" (A quote from an old UK TV show, 'Dad's Army', if you're unsure who Mr Mannering is..)

After this I have meetings in the WV Australia office and then a few days holiday to visit my sister Nikki and the family, including seeing how much our niece Ella has grown since the last visit at New Year. Gareth's got some trips with work later in the year, which includes the Philippines this time and America again. Tonight we have dinner with some of his international STL/IBS colleagues who are visiting for a few days.

Work for both of us is still busy but rewarding and we continue to be excited about the church. We've been chatting to them about setting up a 'life group' our end of the city, as existing groups meet far away and with many living this side and currently no group set up, we hope to change this fairly soon. I've also been asked to get involved with the music group.

Our friendships continue to grow and we feel really blessed by these and also knowing, investing into and learning from so many people with different backgrounds, experiences, cultures, countries, languages and religions.

1 comment:

Gareth Robinson said...

Hi,
So sorry I have been so rubbish at keeping up communication. Love looking at your blog & reading your news. Sounds like you guys are doing some awsome work out there. Your in our prayers. One day we might meet Gareth in person???
Love Robinsonsxx